1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a picture selector and a method of selecting a desired picture from plural pictures for use in a display device, and particularly to a picture selector and a picture selecting method For use in a display device in which multi-picture display is carried out.
2. Description of Related Art
A picture selector technique has been known as a technique for performing a channel selection in a television receiver and a display picture selection in a display device. In this picture selector technique, plural picture frames are displayed and monitored on a display screen to suitably and rapidly select the channel of a desired picture frame The picture selector technique has various selection modes. As one of the display modes, as shown in FIG. 4, sub picture frames which are picture frames of programs on different channels are reductively displayed (picture frames 41 and 43) in such a manner that they arc arranged out of a master or main picture frame which is a picture frame of image-received channel (hereinafter referred to as "PoutP mode") or they are embedded into the main picture frame (hereinafter referred to as "PinP mode"), and a desired one of the programs on different channels is selected while checking the sub picture frames. As another mode, plural picture frames of different channels are reductively displayed on the screen in such a manner as to be arranged in a matrix or other form to perform a multi-channel display ( picture frame 42 ), that is the plural picture frames of different channels are simultaneously monitored to select a desired channel.
In order to select a desired sub picture frame in this type of conventional picture selector, it is required for a viewer to first check a multi-picture on a screen to fix a desired channel number in his memory, then return a currently-displayed picture frame to a main picture frame, and then push a channel selection key, or in PinP mode it is required for the viewer to take his eyes off the displayed picture frame once and then push a SWAP key or the like which is mounted on a remote controller.